Naruto Shingetsu: The Maze (Team 14)
After the conclusion of the written exam and informing you that all remaining Genin have passed, the proctor leaves the room, only for another, unfamiliar figure to step in. The second stage’s proctor. She has a calm aura about her, utterly composed, and commands with a soft voice for you all to follow her. Obeying without question, you and your fellow Genin march along behind her, only to be astounded when she leads you to the most massive maze you’ve ever seen. It looks to be beyond your wildest imagination, massive in scale and sinister in its decrepit appearance. The proctor catches you and your peers eyeing her in disbelief, and she smirks, letting out a huffy laugh. “Yes, you’re all going in there,” she announces. “Welcome to the Chūnin Exams Second Stage, the Maze!” A few nervous chuckles travel around, and some Genin exchange anxious glances with their friends and teammates. “Here’s how this is going to work. Each team will enter the maze through a specified gate, to be assigned by me. When everyone is in place, we will open the gate long enough for you to go in, and then it will shut. There will be no way out except to reach the dead center of the maze, which is your objective: reach the exit without getting yourself or your teammates killed. Once you reach the center, a proctor will remove you from the maze via a reverse summoning technique.” Nobody’s speaking, and silence falls among the crowd. Death? You knew the exams were going to be trying, but literal death? “Within the maze, there are all kinds of things designed to kill you. Randomly placed traps, wild animals, poisonous flora, the works. There is a barrier ninjutsu that will prevent anyone from trying to be a smartass and going over the maze, as well. Furthermore, be advised that the maze is designed to throw further potentially fatal tortures at you. The arena is a circular shape, divided into fourths. Each fourth represents a different sector. Different dangers will be introduced for each section, and that is all the detail I will give you. The rest is up to you and your teammates to navigate.” Murmurs break out, and it is painfully obvious that nobody is mentally prepared for this. You share a look with your teammates, resolute in your determination to pass this stage, and upon the proctor’s signal, you line up at your designated gate. All you have is your own skills and survival knowledge, and the help of your two closest allies. The sound of a cannon rings out, and your gate opens. Steeling yourselves, you and your teammates enter into the unknown. ---- Shina stepped up to the gate with her teammates, Arai and Shinto Aburame her hands at her sides as she stared into the massive wall that was the gate of the maze, stepping forwards into the unknown darkness that was to greet the team. "So...we have to get through this massive thing and not die...seems simple." She said sarcastically. To say she wasn't nervous would be an outright and egregious lie. She let out a shaky breath, taking in the attitudes of her teammates, and then gazing down Arai's ninken, wondering if the animal was nervous as well. So much rode on getting through this alive, and even then, stage two loomed over them like an angry god. "We can do this." She said softly. ---- Aw, man. What the hell had they gotten themselves into? Glancing around, even Arai wasn't too big and proud to admit that this maze looked like an actual challenge, and the reality was, they could all die in there. Perhaps he was too afraid to display his fear, or maybe he just enjoyed struggle way too much, but either way, a huge grin tugged at his lips. "Heh, damn straight we can do this," he growled enthusiastically. Reaching over, he scratched good ol' Shidenmaru behind the ears, noticing his dog's uncharacteristic nervousness. Arai frowned. "Hey," he said, his tone much softer as he dropped to one knee, draping his arm over his dog's shoulder blades. "It'll be okay, Shidenmaru. We've got this, and we're not alone, right? Shina and Shinto are here, too." ----